In the 1942 case Higgins v. Carr Brothers Co., the United States Supreme Court addressed a dispute over whether certain travel expenses could be considered part of an employee's regular rate of pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The plaintiff, Higgins, was employed by Carr Brothers Company and argued that his time spent traveling to and from work sites should be included in his regular rate of pay for overtime calculations. The defendant company disagreed, arguing that these were not hours worked but rather commuting time which is typically excluded from such calculations. The court ruled in favor of Carr Brothers Co., determining that travel time does not constitute as working hours under FLSA unless it involves duties directly related to principal activities performed by employees at their job site or if it occurs during normal working hours.

In the dissenting opinion for Higgins v. Carr Brothers Co., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax assessment on an individual who had not actually received any income during the relevant period was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that this interpretation of the law would lead to unjust results, as individuals could be taxed on money they never actually received or controlled. They also disagreed with the majority's assertion that there is no difference between "income" and "gross income," arguing instead that these are distinct concepts under tax law, and should be treated as such in order to ensure fairness and accuracy in taxation.